Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M7456

Hume's Guillotine

Hume's Guillotine
StructureHigh supportLogic
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Is: factual statement. Ought: value judgment. Guillotine: one cannot derive 'ought' from 'is'.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Separation of facts and values. Reminder that moral norms cannot be directly deduced from factual descriptions alone; an additional value premise is needed.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Factual statements (Is) cannot derive value judgments (Ought). Facts and values are two severed domains; one cannot directly derive 'how things should be' from 'how things are'; an additional value premise is required.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is%E2%80%93ought_problemZH · Explicit
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